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Journal Article 2014; 35(3): 218-223 PubMed PMID: 24977972 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Case-Control Studies, Chemokines:blood, Female, Humans, Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, Male, Middle Aged, Multiple Sclerosis:blood, Obesity:blood, Overweight:blood, Thinness:blood, Young Adult,.   

OBJECTIVES: Chemerin, a novel adipokine produced by adipose tissue and liver, is associated with markers of metabolic syndrome, and additionally, acting as chemoattractant for cells of immune system it may regulate immune cell properties.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: In order to evaluate plasma chemerin concentration in multiple sclerosis (MS) individuals we investigated 39 MS patients (among them 23 subjects were lean and 16 were overweight or obese) and 42 controls with tension headaches (29 of them were lean and 13 were overweight or obese). All patients had a brain MRI scan with gadolinium contrast as well as an assessment of the presence of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and estimation of the CSF IgG index. The neurologic status was evaluated with use of the Expanded Disability Status Scale. Chemerin levels in plasma were measured using ELISA kit. Lipid profile, glucose and insulin levels, CRP and selected cytokine concentrations were also determined.

RESULTS: Plasma chemerin concentrations in overweight/obese MS subjects were higher when comparing to lean MS individuals and the controls, both from lean and overweight/obese subgroups. Significant difference was found between the results of overweight/obese MS and lean controls.

CONCLUSIONS: An increase of chemerin levels in patients with multiple sclerosis is associated with overweight and obesity....

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Journal Article 2013; 34(2): 124-128 PubMed PMID: 23645309 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Biomarkers:blood, Brain Ischemia:blood, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2:blood, Female, Humans, Hypertension:blood, Middle Aged, Neuropeptide Y:blood, Obesity:blood, Radioimmunoassay:methods, Stroke:blood,.   

OBJECTIVE: It has been reported that plasma NPY levels were increased in obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The symptoms of metabolic syndrome frequently appear in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The association between plasma NPY levels and metabolic markers in women with acute ischemic stroke was investigated in the current study.

METHODS: Plasma NPY concentrations were determined using radioimmunoassay in 58 women aged 60-85 (mean age: 76.5±0.8) with acute ischemic stroke and in 24 women aged 63-67 (mean age: 65.6±0.6) of the control group. Stroke was defined according to the NIHSS (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) and was confirmed using CT or MR scan.

RESULTS: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and insulin resistance was higher in the group of patients with stroke. Plasma NPY levels measured during the 1st day and 10 days after the acute phase of stroke were significantly lower (p<0.001) compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION: In women with acute ischemic stroke plasma NPY concentrations were decreased in spite of higher frequency of the occurrence of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome....

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Journal Article 2012; 33(5): 559-564 PubMed PMID: 23090276 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Asthma:blood, Biomarkers:blood, Body Mass Index, Child, Female, Humans, Hypersensitivity:blood, Male, Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase:blood, Obesity:blood, Severity of Illness Index,.   

OBJECTIVES: Very little is known about the role of adipokines in atopic asthma in children. Studies about the potential role of novel proinflammatory adiopcytokine - visfatin are lacking.

DESIGN AND SETTING: In this cross-sectional study serum visfatin (VISF) levels were measured in 89 asthmatic out-patients (61 boys and 28 girls aged 7.0-17.0 years) and in 33 healthy children.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Among examined asthmatics 59 (19 girls and 40 boys) had normal weight and 30 (9 girls and 21 boys) were obese. Serum VISF was evaluated using standard ELISA tests and the results were analysed in relation to body weight, asthma severity, and gender were analysed.

RESULTS: The mean serum levels of visfatin were significantly (p<0.001) lower both in obese (2.13±0.07npg/ml) and non-obese asthmatic children (2.05±0.06 npg/ml) than in healthy children (2.57±0.07 pg/ml) regardless of gender. After stratifying by gender, there was a significant decrease (p<0.001) in visfatin levels in obese asthmatic girls (2.30±0.08 ng/ml) and asthmatic girls with normal weight girls (2.21±0,09 ng/ml) compared with girls from control group (2.69 ±0.06 ng/ml). In obese asthmatic boys and non-obese asthmatic boys also significantly lower (p<0.01) mean values of visfatin (2.03±0.06 ng/ml and 1.9±0.06 pg/ml respectively) were observed than in control boys (2.391±0.09 ng/ml). No relationships between examined adipokine levels and asthma severity, spirometric parameters, degree of allergic sensitization, BMI, were observed.

CONCLUSION: Visfatin is not potential biomarker in atopic asthma in children and further studies evaluating the possible role of this proinflammatory adipokine in childhood atopic asthma pathogenesis are needed....

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Journal Article 2011; 32(3): 349-353 PubMed PMID: 21712777 Citation  Keywords:  Adipokines:blood, Body Mass Index, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diabetes Complications:blood, Female, Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated:metabolism, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity:blood, Resistin:blood, Sex Characteristics,.   

OBJECTIVE: Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and resistin may be influenced by diabetes, but their associations remain unclear. We hypothesized that serum resistin might be parallel to Hb1c.

DESIGN AND SETTING: We measured serum resistin in 134 obese non-diabetic (73 women and 61 men), and 65 obese diabetic (33 women and 32 men) humans, and examined their relationships with HbA1c. The presence of diabetes was the only differentiating factor between the groups.

RESULTS: Resistin, non-diabetic vs. diabetic, median and interquartile range, respectively: resistin (ng/mL) 26.08, 16.09 and 22.14,14.54, p>0.5. To investigate the influence of HbA1c on resistin, both groups were divided into tertiles based on HbA1c. In diabetics, resistin was similar in high, intermediate, and low HbA1c subgroups, p>0.05, and resistin was not influenced by HbA1c: r=-0.1785; p=0.15. In non-diabetics, resistin differed between HbA1c tertiles, p<0.001, and was influenced by HbA1c, r = -0.3599; p=0.0003.

CONCLUSIONS: Resistin concentrations are similar in diabetic and non-diabetic humans with the same range of obesity. However, resistin is associated with HbA1c only in non-diabetic obese individuals which may point to the fact that resistin is a marker of glycaemic balance in obesity but not in diabetes....

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Comparative Study 2010; 31(5): 673-678 PubMed PMID: 21173741 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Biomarkers:blood, Body Mass Index, Cholesterol, HDL:blood, Cholesterol, LDL:blood, Comorbidity, Diabetes Mellitus:blood, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity:blood, Poland:epidemiology, Regression Analysis, Resistin:blood, Triglycerides:blood,.   

OBJECTIVES: Plasma cholesterol, triglycerides and serum resisistin may all be influenced by diabetes and obesity, but their associations remain unclear. Therefore, we put forward a hypothesis that serum lipids might be parallel to resistin, as they all reflect the metabolic status of obese humans.

DESIGN AND SETTING: We measured the concentrations of resistin, total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) in 134 obese non-diabetic (73 women and 61 men) and 65 obese diabetic (33 women, 32 men) humans, and examined their interrelations. Obesity was defined according to the WHO criterion (BMI, ≥ 30 kg/m²) The presence of diabetes was the only differentiating factor between two groups of frankly obese humans.

RESULTS: Non-diabetic vs. diabetic, median and interquartile range, respectively: resistin (ng/mL) 26.08, 16.09 vs. 22.37, 14.54, p=0.736; TC (mmol/L) 5.02, 1.39 vs. 5.16, 1.56, p=0.374; HDL-C (mmol/L): 1.10, 0.41 vs. 1.02, 0.47 p<0.05; LDL-C (mmol/L): 3.00, 1.05 vs. 3.00, 1.30 p=0.978; TG (mmol/L) 1.70, 1.43 vs.1.95, 1.81 p<0.05. To investigate the interrelations between resistin and lipids, a simple regression analysis was used, and the results were for resistin & TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, and TG, respectively: in the whole cohort r=-0.1364, p=0.0670, r=0.1514, p=0.0437, r=-0.2573, p=0.0006, r=0.0434, p=0.5597; in non-diabetics: r=-0.2067, p=0.0213, r=0.1023, p=0.2621, r=-0.2399, p=0.0083 and r=0.0288, p=0.7497; in diabetics r=0.0280, p=0.8360, r=0.2267, p=0.0929, r=-0.2933, p=0.0298, r=0.1349, p=0.3127.

CONCLUSIONS: In diabetic and non-diabetic subjects the atherogenic LDL cholesterol shows an inverse correlation with resistin, whereas the protective anti-atherosclerotic HDL cholesterol is positively correlated with resistin....

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Comparative Study 2010; 31(3): 353-358 PubMed PMID: 20588239 Citation  Keywords:  Adiponectin:blood, Adult, Binge-Eating Disorder:blood, Body Mass Index, Female, Humans, Leptin:blood, Obesity:blood,.   

BACKGROUND: Adipose tissue-derived hormones are involved in the pathophysiology of eating disorders and other mental disorders. Studies have suggested that the serum leptin/adiponectin ratio is highly correlated with BMI. Furthermore, it is associated with a number of metabolic processes and inflammatory markers that are involved in obesity and mental disorders, such as the physiopathology of binge eating disorder (BED). We investigated whether variations in leptin and adiponectin serum concentrations differed between adult women with and without BED before and after a meal.

METHODS: The study group was composed of 8 normal weight women (20-25 kg/m2) without BED, 8 obese women (>/=30 kg/m2) with BED, and 7 obese women without BED (non-BED). Blood samples were collected before and after the consumption of a meal composed of 55% carbohydrates, 15% protein, and 30% lipids.

RESULTS: Body mass index (p<0.0001), leptin (p<0.0001) and the leptin/adiponectin ratio (p<0.0001) were higher in obese non-BED women than in obese BED and normal weight groups. Adiponectin (p=0.01) concentrations were lower in the obese BED group than in the other groups before and after the meal.

CONCLUSIONS: The hypoadiponectinemia followed by the altered levels of leptin in obese BED woman may predispose these subjects to an inadequate energy balance, which could promote weight gain and an increased food intake in woman that may contribute to obesity and binge eating in these subjects....

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Comparative Study 2008; 29(1): 141-145 PubMed PMID: 18283269 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone:blood, Blood Pressure:physiology, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone:blood, Lipids:blood, Male, Metabolic Syndrome X:blood, Obesity:blood, Risk Factors,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the varying degrees of obesity and blood glucocorticoid levels in obese children and adolescents with and without metabolic syndrome features.

METHODS: We studied 241 obese children and adolescents aged between 2 and 17.6 years; 127 boys and 114 girls. All children underwent an oral glucose tolerance test. Measurements included blood pressure, cortisol, ACTH, and lipid profiles. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria adapted from World Health Organisation and National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel-III guidelines.

RESULTS: Blood cortisol and ACTH levels were higher in patients with MS than without MS (p = 0.02). ACTH levels increased with weight (r = 0.13, p = 0.02), systolic blood pressure (r = 0.21, p = 0.002), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.17, p = 0.01), fasting glucose (r = 0.17, p = 0.01). Cortisol production was only correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.12, p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Results from the present study indicates that there may be a link between cortisol production and the metabolic syndrome in obese children and adolescents....

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Comparative Study 2007; 28(6): 901-907 PubMed PMID: 18063927 Citation  Keywords:  Adiponectin:blood, Adult, Cholesterol:blood, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2:blood, Energy Metabolism:physiology, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Humans, Male, Matched-Pair Analysis, Middle Aged, Obesity:blood, Statistics, Nonparametric, Triglyceri.   

OBJECTIVES: Adiponectin is a novel plasma protein produced exclusively in adipocytes. Despite early data, its relationship with obesity and diabetes has been recently questioned. Since plasma lipids influence diabetes and obesity, of concern is whether any associations between plasma lipids and adiponectin exist.

DESIGN AND METHODS: The aim of this study was to measure adiponectin levels and to investigate their associations with plasma cholesterol fractions and triglycerides in 73 obese non-diabetic subjects (44 women and 29 men), and 43 obese diabetic subjects (28 women and 15 men), aged 52.7+/-11.2 and 53.1+/-11 years, respectively, and matched for age, sex and BMI. The WHO definitions of obesity and diabetes were used. Adiponectin was determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS: No correlations between adiponectin and total and LDL cholesterol levels were shown (for the whole cohort: r=0.0130; p=0.8899, and r=0.0807; p=0.3958, respectively). A positive correlation between HDL cholesterol levels and adiponectin occured predominantly in obese women without diabetes (r=0.4531; p=0.0023), resulting in an overall statistical trend in the whole cohort (r=0.2243; p=0.0164). A negative correlation between serum adiponectin and triglycerides was found (r=-0.3413; p=0.0002).

CONCLUSION: Adiponectin correlated only with TG and partially with HDL but not with LDL and total cholesterol in the study group of obese diabetic and obese non diabetic subjects. In view of these results we suggest that the role of adiponectin in human metabolism is unclear and merits further investigation....

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